Midwest snowmobilers to compete in World Championship Hillclimb

Friday

Mar 15, 2013 at 6:00 AM

The Mid America Snow and Terrain Expert Racers, commonly known as the MASTERS Racing Circuit, will be sending the best snowmobile hillclimbers to this coming weekends World Championship Hillclimb in Jackson, Wyoming.

The Mid America Snow and Terrain Expert Racers, commonly known as the MASTERS Racing Circuit, will be sending the best snowmobile hillclimbers to this coming weekends World Championship Hillclimb in Jackson, Wyoming.

The contingent of drivers will include the MASTERS first Junior Division driver, Luke Maher. Maher is from Hastings, Minnesota. Maher qualified for the World Championship at this years Mid America Championship Hillclimb in Caspian, Michigan, on February 16th.

While this will be the first World Championship Snowmobile Hillclimb for Maher, it will mark the 4th time that the father-son duo of Layne and Jordan Stank, will make the trip west. The Stank's qualified for the World Championship at the Golden Gate Extreme Hillclimb in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, on January 19th.

It was Jordan Stank that posted the highest qualifying position of any MASTERS Racing Circuit driver at last years World Championship's. Jordan (Stank), rated as the MASTERS Racing Circuit's top professional snowmobile hillclimber, along with his father both race for Cozzy's Polaris, Team Industries, and Kold Kutter Screws. Jordan is from Stoughton, Wisconsin, while his father, Layne, is from Menomonee, Michigan.

It was at the MACH in Caspian that a pair of Baraga County, Michigan snowmobilers qualified for the World Championship. Travis Kaurala and Kyle Wadaga. Both have qualified for the World Championship in the past.

Joining Maher in competing at the World Championship for the first time is Kory Fasnacht of Mankato, Minnesota. Fasnacht also qualified at the MACH in Caspian.

The MASTERS Racing Circuit is the Professional Snowmobile Hillclimb Circuit from the Midwest that offers professional, junior, and women snowmobile hillclimbers with the opportunity to qualify for the World Championship Hillclimb. The MASTERS does this with snowmobile hillclimbs in Michigan and Minnesota. While the MASTERS Racing Circuit has been involved in snowmobile hillclimbs and snowmobile "snow" drags for the past 20 years, the circuit was recognized as the qualifying circuit for the World Championships for the past 15 years.

It will be the weekend after this years World Championship that the MASTERS will already begin to qualify drivers for the 2014 World Championships. This will take place at the MASTERS final Snowmobile Hillclimb of the 2013 season. That will take place at Big Powderhorn Mountain in Bessemer. The Orvana Resources Big Powderhorn Mountain Snowmobile Hillclimb will take place on Sunday, March 31st. Orvana Resources will also hold a "snow" drag at Big Powderhorn Mountain on Saturday, March 30th.

"With all the snow the Ironwood-Bessemer area has received in March, along with all the snow the Western UP has received this year, we couldn't ask for better conditions for either the snow drags or the hillclimb," commented MASTERS Racing Circuit President, Skip Schulz.

It will be the Pro Stock and Pro Mod King of the Hill at the Orvana Resources Big Powderhorn Mountain Hillclimb on March 31st that will automatically qualify for the 2014 World Championships.

"Every hill that the MASTERS runs a Snowmobile Hillclimb is different. The snow conditions, along with the numerous gates that the hillclimbers will have to go around at Big Powderhorn will create a whole different type of competition for our drivers. Plus I'm also expecting some of our snow drag racers that compete on Saturday to try hillclimbing for the first time," stated Schulz.

The Orvana Resources Snow Drags will showcase the very fastest snowmobile drag racers throughout the Midwest. The snow drags at Big Powderhorn will take place right in front of the Caribou Lodge. Three, 500 foot groomed lanes will provide the racers with ideal conditions.

"With only that race and our April 6th MASTERS Snow Drag Championships at Marquette Mountain, Marquette, Michigan, the races at Big Powderhorn will separate who is in the running for the 2013 TOP GUN Championship and those that are not," concluded Schulz.

The snow drag racers are racing for MASTERS snow drag points in both stock and modified classes. The MASTERS anticipates the highest turnout of snow drag racers at both Big Powderhorn Mountain and Marquette Mountain. Final pre-registration for the snow drags will take place at Powderhound Lodge, near Big Powderhorn. That will be on Friday, March 29th, starting at 7 pm. The hillclimbers can register that night, or on Saturday night, March 30th, at Big Powderhorn Mountain. The MASTERS Racing Circuit does not accept any registration on the day of the event.